Eating and blogging my way around San Francisco and beyond. 18 year veteran of The City with long food history.

May 10 Who doesn't love.....waffle pizza?

Oh the mall and its food court, you can definitely find some "interesting" finds for sure. Though I'm not going to call the Metreon a mall really, it is more of a movie theater with a Target attached. It just so happens they have a food court that seems to be ever changing in some of the spaces. It works if you want to grab a quick bite and don't want to spend money on movie food as no matter what they say, folks always seem to be bringing food in. I watch the parade of food choices there and many times I'm all, "eh, let's keep looking." Nothing seems to really strike me to eat at the moment I am looking. Yes, this only happens in my world. Still, I wander around the offerings looking to be inspired to plunk down my cash for something.

One spot I have walked by a handful of times is Wafl Cafe. It is relatively new there and took over a spot that was a crepery and a few other things over the years. I think it sort of a chain though I have yet to see one anywhere else, I'll leave the digging to others. What has mainly caught my attention is the smell. They are selling made to order waffles after all. It definitely attracts people, kind of like the smell of fresh bread or cinnamon rolls. There big thing is taking the waffle, rolling it and and then adding in sweet bits like whipped cream, fruit, caramel sauce, chocolate, etc. Though what really caught my eye was something they are calling a waffle pizza. And it is exactly what you think it is.

waffle pizza

Waffle mix (yes, the standard sweet one) filled, stuffed, added in, however you would like to describe it, with stuff you might find on a pizza. Then cooked in a waffle maker and served up on a plate. The put a layer of the waffle mix down, then add some toppings, put a little more waffle mix on top of that and close the lid. In about 5-7 minutes, out pops something that looks like the above.

They have a handful of varieties to choose from like the Margarita or the Italian--classic pizza offerings. But they also serve up some offbeat ones like salmon. Something I just wouldn't even come close to trying. I did eventually settle on the Mexico which includes cheese, mushrooms, peppers and sausage. Not sure what makes it Mexico but it came closest to what I might ordinarily order on a pizza.

In size terms, it isn't all that big and is more mini pizza. But at $8 a pop I guess it wasn't too small either. I was thinking it would come more puffed up like a waffle but seems they don't but quite so much waffle mix in there and then it gets pressed down so it was more like a grilled cheese you might make at home. I will say they do try their best to evenly fill it with the toppings.

inside of a waffle pizza

Yes, they also put a little bit of tomato sauce in there. the sausages were more like Lil Smokies or something and the peppers were of the slightly sweet red variety not jalapeno which I was kind of expecting for something called Mexico. While it does kind of taste like a crispy waffle on the outside and has the markings, I was thinking the batter might be sweet, which it was, but only a little. All that savory kind of takes care of that. In essence this was more like a waffle quesadilla than a waffle pizza. Maybe had they made the waffle then put the toppings on top and melted the cheese you would feel it was more like pizza. This feels more pressed sandwich like. Taste wise it was okay. It felt more like something they might actually serve at a movie theater than a stand at a food court. Very novelty food like.

Of course, they also had something they were calling a waffle dog and yes, I tried that too.

waffle dogs

It was two for $8. While it may look like one is chocolate or possibly burnt, it actually wasn't. I watched her make these and one of the first she did stuck to the waffle maker. Ah, the bane of all cooks, not using enough non-stick spray! She then started another but kept the other one in till the second was done, thus one came out darker. Looked a little more like poop on a stick than hot dog. Standing there while she made these I realized it all felt a bit like carnival food. Except at a carnival, these would probably be the size of my arm and dipped in nacho cheese. As is, they tasted like you would think, a thin beef hot dog wrapped in a pancake. I probably needed syrup to dip in to take this all they way to state fair food but ketchup and mustard were my only options.

waffle dog with ketchup and mustard

I guess for what it is, it was fine, though not really filling or satisfying. It really was like, oh, that sounds fun let's try it! Then you have it, shrug and are still hungry so you go looking for something else to gorge on at another fair booth. Sadly for me, there wasn't anything else at the Metreon I wanted to try so I just went home and had some toast with peanut butter, that always works.

If you want something different, it is worth a try, though it probably tastes best if you get, take it into a movie and have it with a ginormous soda. That is the kind of food this is, more fun "I had this" snack than actual food for dinner. Which is kind of funny since when she handed the food over to me, she said, "enjoy your dinner." I laughed a little to myself. She sure was putting a lot pressure on these things to live up to a dinner time meal. In the end, they merely served as a passing snack as I made my way through the food court, out the door and back home for something a little more filling.